Rainfall
by SomeoneElseOutThere
Summary: John and Rose, private investigators, pick up a missing persons case, leading them to a town with a mysterious and dark underbelly.
1. Chapter 1

This is set in vague roaring twenties to fit the Call of Cthulhu stuff. I went full pretentious, but I had fun with it. This might be edited later.

* * *

It was a rainy day, like usual. The scent of wet cement wafted through the air, clinging to the clothes of passersby. The downpour could still be heard in the diner, in between the soft chatter of the patrons and the bell ring of those seeking refuge from the rain. Rose Lalonde was used to such a day, usually whenever she and John would meetup to discuss cases, like they were went to do now. He told her it was a missing person's case. Typically, they don't do missing persons, but it was a request from his cousin, and it wasn't like he could say no to her. Rose couldn't even say no to Roxy asking to finding the cat she lost during her early years.

The waitress comes around and places two cup of coffee on the table. Wordlessly, she moves two ten dollar bills to the table. She picks up hers, cooling it before taking a sip. She hears the bell ring as the door swings open and it closes. She hears the footsteps make their way over to her, and she doesn't need to look back to know who it is.

"Sorry I'm late." John says, sitting down. The umbrella leans against their booth, and he places his hat next to him. "Couldn't find an umbrella."

"Oh, it's fine." Rose says, "I'm glad you did though, wouldn't want to show up with a wet coat, would you?"

"Obviously." he says. "Especially not now. It's getting colder, and you'll get tuberculosis!"

"That's an old wives' tale. And it's pneumonia." Rose says with a laugh. John takes a sip of his coffee. "Anyway, what about the case?"

"Jane told me about it." he says, reaching into his coat to pull out a file. He opens it, taking out a picture of a young woman, probably in her late teens or early twenties. He hands it to her, and she squints at it. A girl with long, black flowing hair and a round, bubbly face. "You know Jane does a lot charity work, right? Well, this is one of the girls she takes care of."

"Do you know her?" she asks.

"Sort of. She's a few years younger than me, but I remember seeing her back when we were teenagers. Jane always took her in because she would always be wandering around, like she didn't have a home. Her name's Feferi, by the way."

"That's a… unique name." Rose says, "No last name?"

"No. I don't think she ever had one, personally." John says. "I mean, I always thought she was an orphan, but she always showed up with different clothes. I think Jane tried following her home one day, but she lost her trial."

"It seems like you should have reported something." Rose says, "Why didn't she?"

"She was just a kid, and it's not like she was doing anything wrong." John says, tugging at his coat. "Besides, she never did anything weird until she went missing."

"What happened?"

"She just wasn't showing up anymore. Jane asked around but no had seen her."

"Right, but if _she_ asked around, then what leads do we have?" Rose asks.

"I did do some asking around before I got here." John says, taking out a file and sliding it down to her. "Jane didn't know about this, but some people did report seeing someone like her on a bus recently."

Rose opens the file, reading over the report. A girl with remarkable resemblance to Feferi was seen entering a late night bus, looking concerned. There was no one else seen on the bus aside from the driver, a Mr. Vantas.

"I see." Rose says, closing the file with a satisfied smile. "We have our first lead."

* * *

Rose tugs at her dark coat, rain still pouring around them. John held up their umbrella, and the two of them waited for the bus, huddled under it.

"I've seen that driver before." Rose says. "He always makes stops here. I think he's the only one who goes out of town."

"Do you go out of town often?" John asks. "I know you go to the library a town over. I don't know why you do, though."

"Oh, _research_." Rose says. "I only go out once a month. The library a town over, they have a microfilm."

"Those things? They'll kill your eyes." John says with a laugh. "What do you need the microfilm for, anyway?"

"Newspapers." she says, "A lot of things they don't write down in history books. Anything a newspaper has is going to stay. It's where you can find things people likely won't remember in ten years."

"Like what?"

"There was a murder around the bus stop here." Rose says, surprising him, taking some amusement in his reaction. "No witnesses. The bus driver drove up to find the body laying here. Their throat was slashed, but evidence says they died from strangling."

"They probably did that to mess with the investigation." John says, looking away. "Really creepy though. Did anyone get prosecuted?"

"Nope. It's a cold case." Rose says. "I don't think it'll be solved anytime soon. No witnesses and no indication of a clear murderer. The victim didn't even have any loved ones to interview."

John doesn't say anything else, but only as the buss tires screech up. They both look up, seeing the gray, empty bus with no one else inside. No one, but the driver. The door opens and Rose walks forward, ignoring the rain on her coat. She takes her first step inside, John staying behind her. She stops in front. The driver doesn't notice her at first, keeping his eyes on the road. It's not until he takes a quick glance to the side that he notices her, looking at her with a confused and somewhat offended face.

"What the hell are you doing? Go sit down, I'm about to start driving." He says, looking away.

"I will, but first I need to ask you something." Rose begins, reaching into her coat, taking out Feferi's picture. "Have you seen this girl?"

"I've seen a lot of girls walk in and on this bus." He says, not looking at the picture. "I see a lot of people. That doesn't mean I remember them."

"Sir, _please_." she says, annoyed and presenting Feferi's picture closer to him. "She's a missing person and she was last seen coming onto your bus. If you can tell us where you dropped her off, that would help us."

He sighs, turning to look at the picture. His expression changes to one difficult for Rose to read. It looked like a mix of confusion, shock, and concern. It certainly tells her that he had seen her, and he remembers her, but he looks disturbed to remember it.

"Okay. I have seen her." He admits. "She looked worried, so I thought someone was after her or something else. I left right after she got in, but she came up and asked me to drop her off somewhere."

"Where?" Rose asks.

"Newport." he says. "It's that fishing town down south. It's out of my route, but not too far."

"I've heard of it." Rose says, thinking. She had heard of it, but any stories she heard were mentioned in passing. It always seemed like a stop or a forgettable dot you'd see on the local map. If she was scared, then that would explain hiding somewhere most people pass over. "That's more like a little podunk town, isn't it? If she was scared, then was probably hiding."

"Yeah, but you don't just go down there _willingly_." Vantas says. He takes his hands off the wheel as if to demonstrate, "So, if you do go down to a little podunk town to hide. There's a million of those down here. But /Newport? They don't like getting new people down there."

Rose frowns, not sure what to make of it. She tells him not to drive off yet, stepping off to talk to John.

"I heard most of it." he says, before she gets the chance to speak, reliving her of the exhausting task of having to rely the same information. "If she did go down there, it couldn't hurt to look around, right?"

"Right." Rose says, looking behind to check and see if the door was still open. "But the way he talks about Newport, I don't like it. I think he knows something we don't, or something is wrong there."

"On the upside, we won't be there for a long time." John says, smiling, clearly trying to cheer her up. "You know, the bus is here too, we can go there right now."

* * *

and then they did  
next chapter will be up soon. I still dont know how to end my chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

It's amazing what kind of things that can inspire you to write more. Like Psychosalad. That's what I wrote this to.

* * *

Rose quietly read her book that she had brought along, sitting two seats behind the driver for no particular reason. Well, that and she didn't want to be within shouting range as John continued to barrage Karkat with questions. Most of which didn't even have to do with Newport; as they had somehow branched off into whether or not stalk markets were good investment. She, naturally, didn't care either way, but they were getting pretty heated about it. After about fifteen minutes, she closes her book, carefully making her way up front, grabbing the handle of the seats next to John. He looks up, grinning at her.

"Hey there, Rose! Any opinions?" he asks.

"It's like gambling." Rose says with a shrug. "You might get something good for the short term, but the long term? It's unreliable."

"You're two to one now, Egbert!" Karkat brags, looking back for a second to give him a cocky grin.

"That doesn't make _you_ right." He says, pouting. He leans back, and Rose takes a seat behind him.

"So," Rose begins, "You two talked for a while. Anything interesting about Newport?"

"We talked about it for _a bit_." John says, sheepishly. "Then we… started talking about fish, trade, then stalk markets."

"What did you learn during that bit, then?" she asks, taking out her notebook this time.

"It is podunk, like you said." He says. "Karkat says they're mostly hicks. They don't like outsiders very much, only tolerate them for a short while, etc."

Rose frowns, biting her pen. "With that reputation… Why would Feferi risk it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Feferi was being chased, why go for a town with a such a strong animosity towards outsiders?"

"Maybe it's like hiding in plain sight?" John suggests. "But instead, you go a place no one expects."

"I don't think so." Rose says. She sits up, tapping the driver's seat, catching Karkat's attention. "Aside from telling you wear to drop her off, did you talk to her at all?"

"A little." he says, frowning, his gaze hardset on the road. "I just remember asking her why she wanted to go to Newport. She just said she had to get away. I asked her if Newport was really were she wanted to go."

"And?"

"She said she _had_ to go to Newport." Karkat says. "But the _way_ she said it. It was like she was compelled."

"Compelled?" John asks. "Like she was… forced to go there?"

"I don't know. It seems weird, right?" Karkat says. He sighs, "Anyway, you two figure it out. We're almost there. How long are you staying, anyway?"

"I haven't decided on how long." Rose says. She looks to John. "What do you think?"

"Maybe three days?" John shrugs. "I just know it's under a week."

"Okay, well." He sighs. "When you guys want to leave, call my station.*" He tells Rose the number "Tell them to send Karkat to Newport. I won't be instant, but it's better than having to stay there."

"Thank you, Karkat." Rose says with a smile.

"Not a problem." He murmurs as she sits down. Rose looks out to see a town come into view. A dreary, wooden town. She squints at an upcoming sign, which read "NEWPORT" in faded letters.

"What do you think?" John asks, looking out the window with her.

They drove past the sign now, passing into the first street. Some people were walking along. They looked normal, some with families, friends, or mothers with their children; lone adults or lone teens. But as the bus strolled through, they all stopped. They looked up, staring at the bus like it was some sort of bad omen. Rose made eye contact with a mother, holding the hand of her young son. The woman didn't blink, the two of them held their gaze until the bus completely passed them. Rose turns her head away from the window. She wasn't an easy person to scare. But looking at that woman, she understood why Karkat was so unnerved by this town.

"It's suspicious." She says as the bus tires screech to a halt.

* * *

John helps her off the bus, umbrella in hand. As they step off, Rose instinctively fixes her coat, a bit aware of all the possible eyes on her. Karkat drives off after waving to them, his bus screeching out of town. Rose looks around, noticing that people were still looking at them. Some of them were courteous enough to look away when they realized she noticed them. She frowns, crossing her arms.

"So should we ask around, or look for a place to sleep?" John asks. "I think a map is the first priority."

"Right." Rose says. She takes a hold of the umbrella. "Stay next to me, John." She murmurs. "I get bad feelings from these people."

John tries to look casual, but she can tell he was nervous too. He walks along with her, forcing himself to look ahead. She spots a small shop, one that looked friendly. It was a flower shop. She presses her hand into the door, the bell ringing. John quickly puts away the umbrella, and she sighs, trying to steady herself.

It was a nice enough looking place. Small, but the bright colors and the pleasant smells were enough to anchor her to this spot. Internally, she tells herself that this isn't any more dangerous than any of the other investigations they had been on. She could see herself handling just fine, but John…

Rose glances behind her. John was looking out the window, looking relieved. He turns back to her. "No one's closing in." he jokes. "Everyone's gone back to back to their routine."

She didn't find the joke particularly funny, but she smiled anyway. She turns back, stopping once she notices a girl with their back turned to them, tending to the flowers. Her hair was a dark brown, cropped short. She picked up a small tub of flowers, turning around. When she saw them, she dropped it, and they crashed to the floor, spilling mud and flowers everywhere. She gave Rose that same, wordless stare. Rose felt a chill go down her spine. She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder, but she realized it was just John.

"Hello miss!" he greets. "We're just visiting. You wouldn't happen to know where we could find a map, would you?"

The girl blinks, and shakes her head like she just remembered something. She looks down at the pile of mud and flowers, and gasps.

"Oh-Oh my god!" she says, picking up the tub. She places it on the counter, going to the back. "I'm so sorry, I was just surprised." She calls out. She comes back out with a broom and dustpan, furiously stuffing the mud into the dustpan and throwing it in the tub. Rose felt a surge of relief at this girl acting like a normal person now, instead of looking at her with that same, vacant stare.

"It's no trouble." Rose says, "My partner and I, John here, we're just investigating a missing person. We may have to be here a while."

"Oh." the girl says, stopping and looking down. "For… um, for how long?"

"Under a week." John says. "We heard you guys don't like tourists, so don't worry. We won't be long, and we won't disturb the peace."

She smiles, but it's forced. "Thank you. That's very courteous." she says, standing up. "There's a hotel down Shoal rd, which is just one street over. They have maps there."

"Thank you, ma'am." Rose says. She turns to leave, but reaches into her coin purse, taking out a few bills. "That's for the flowers, sorry."

* * *

*For plot purposes, let's pretend bus stations in the 20s had phones you could call and request pickups. Quite ahead of their time.


	3. Chapter 3

This is just a short lull time chapter before some more important plot™ stuff next chapter. It's only so short because the other half quickly became it's own thing.

* * *

She and John arrived at the small hotel, a dinky looking thing that looked stuffed between two buildings. John walks up the to receptionist, who looked like a normal man with a warm smile. He waves to them, clearly friendlier and less unnerved by visitors.

"Can we get a room with two beds?" John asked, "We're not gonna be too long."

"Oh, of course!" the receptionist says, turning a booklet to John, "Please just sign your names here, a vacant room is on the top floor, 216."

"Thank you." Rose says, quickly taking the booklet from John. She hopes to scan it for any mention of Feferi, but it was a new page, no one else on it. Deciding it would look suspicious to flip through it, writes her name, a random name of Sarah Smith. John quickly realizes what she's doing, and writes his own fake name down - Jack Williams. The receptionist blinks and frowns, looking surprised. At first, Rose took it as a sign that he knew their names, somehow. The paranoia quickly dissipates, however, when the receptionist looks up to them and says;

"So you two aren't a married couple?" he asked. John laughs, and Rose tries not to, covering her face.

"No, sorry." John says, "I know we look like tourists, but we're really not. We're just looking for a missing person."

"Oh, a missing person, huh?" he asks, closing the book but not putting it away. "Why would they come here?"

"That's what we want to know." Rose says. She gestures to the book. "Did a Feferi come in here?"

"A.. Feferi?" he asks. He didn't seem to be lying, so he was either a very good actor or very much unaware. "No, no. I never seen a Feferi around here. What did she look like?"

"Long, wavy hair." John motions to imitate long hair, "A round face? She's about twenty now."

He shook his head. "Nope. Never seen anyone like that around here. Usually I just get out for the town fishermen and sometimes businessmen visiting to talk to our fishermen."

"Well, Feferi _certainly_ wasn't either." John says. "Uh, thanks for your help, anyway. Do you have any idea where she might go?"

"No idea." he shrugs, placing the book under the desk. He pauses, as if thinking something over. "But, maybe try talking to The Youth. They usually hang out over by ports."

* * *

"Okay, so what we know?" John asks with a huff, hands on hips. Rose takes out her notebook, scribbling as she spoke.

"Assuming the receptionist is lying, which I doubt, Feferi didn't stay the night here." she says. "I think this means that Feferi knows someone here and stayed with them, so talking to The Youth seems like your best option at this point."

"And, if Feferi came here, then she must've felt safe here." he says, looking at the window. "I think that means she's a native to this town."

Rose was going to ask if he was sure, but the reasons quickly occurred to her, She began scribbling again, reading it outloud.

"That explains why she chose Newport in the first place. Even if she knew someone here, she probably would have turned back the moment she saw the way everyone looked at her." She reasons. "But if she was a Newport resident, then what was she doing in our city?"

"That's what confuses me." John says, turning back. "It's not efficient to take buses here and back; Karkat was out of our city's route, so I doubt anyone else did the same. If she just kept asking random bus drivers, then Karkat should have been one of them. And if she _did_ do all that, then why take the extra effort to meet with Jane and I so often? She practically lived with us."

"It doesn't make sense." Rose comments, setting her notebook down next to her. "I think you are onto something. I can only assume it must mean she has family here?"

"I thought that too." John sits down on his bed, hat in hand. "I tried asking Feferi about where she lived a few times, but she always said she lived in the slums, so I just assumed she came by so often because its where she got her meals. Maybe I wasn't wrong, so do you think she just came back because whoever was taking care of her died?"

"That could just be it." Rose replies. "But if she felt comfortable enough with Jane, then living with her is safer and more convenient."

John went silent at that, still mulling it over. Obviously she didn't mind going over the case, but the mysterious disappearance of Feferi wasn't going to get solved by sitting in their rooms. It was necessary for the case, of course, and she could tell John was just as confused about it as she was. She was anxious to pick up that lead about 'The Youth', however. As if asking around a town full of prying eyes wasn't welcoming enough, she should at least go for people who give her decent answers.

"Do you think I should talk to Jane?" John asks, looking to her. "I mean, she was practically part of the family, so-"

"Maybe not yet. There isn't much report other than where we are, and aside from our own deductions we don't have many leads." she says. "If I was in Jane's position, I would wait for more concrete evidence."

"Right, but…" John sighs. "It just that I feel like there's a lot of things I don't know about Feferi, maybe things Jane knows but I _don't_. What if she told Jane something that's important to all of this?"

"Wouldn't Jane have told you about it?" Rose asks. "If Feferi had family, wouldn't she have told Jane? And if she didn't tell Jane, then why not?"

John doesn't say anything, still thinking it over. She didn't know how close John would be to Feferi, she had never met the girl, but she knew how much family meant to him. His family wasn't like hers, with siblings she kept in minimal contact with. She could tell this was something deeply personal to him, and she wanted to comfort him. But it wasn't her place, was it? And yet...

"John." She says, standing up and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Let's get going. I'm sure we can figure things out as we go along."


	4. Chapter 4

Plot™  
Also I would like to say i've stayed on the west coast all my life so I don't know how differently the east coast handles it's port towns/weather. I think you guys are lucky enough to get snow over there.

* * *

The pier smelled of seaweed and dead fish, so it wasn't anything either of them weren't used to. What was interesting, however, was how the pier was part working pier and part pleasure pier. It was strange to see something that usually attracted tourists in such a xenophobic town, but to it's credit, it wasn't that big and looked to be more suited to town festivals than a tourist attraction. From where they were standing, they could see the huddled buildings on either side of a single street, leading to a large carousel peeking out from the building. It was also _very_ closed, making it seem more sinister than a small pier should be.

The rest of the pier was dedicated to the ports. Naturally there were boats out on the water and docked, so nothing too out of the ordinary. There was a shack facing the working pier and backed against the buildings of the boardwalk. It looked like it sold fishing rods, bait, and almost anything else you would reasonably need for a short fishing trip. It quickly became notable when two men walked out in suits, walked off the docks, right into a car, driving out of view and leaving them the only other humans around. The solitude felt punctuated by the cold air now blowing past them.

"I should have brought the blue jacket." John complains. "You never think about how cold the atlantic sea is until your eyebrows are freezing off."

"Believe me, I know." Rose cracks her pink knuckles, trying to get circulation through and un-stiffening her fingers. "I can't have these becoming icicles on me while I'm writing."

Seagulls squawking over them as they walked down the docks, the distance between them and the shack closing. It was an ugly, faded green thing with windows that still needed to be clean. Clearly sitting so close to the ocean had not been kind to it. The wood looked like it had shrunk or, at least, looked like it would crack into several pieces it it wasn't broken together. Curiously, despite people coming out of the shack, the sign read 'closed'. John, not letting that stop him, turned the doorknob while Rose stood back, convinced it wasn't going to work. Which surprised her when it _did_ , and John too as his weight fell forward. Luckily he was able to catch himself before face planting into the floor.

The two of them walked inside, and just like the docks it was mysteriously empty. Shelves were lined with anything you would need for a fishing trip, predictably, but there was no one at counter. The only windows where at the front and side of the shop, the wooden floor creaking under them as they walked inside. There was a nondescript gray door behind the counter, likely leading to storage. White shelves were lined along the store and sold various types of bait and other fishing equipment, aside from fishing rods like Rose expected. She walks over to the counter, looking over it to see if someone was behind it for whatever reason.

"You don't think those men that left were the owners?" John asks. He walked around the shelves, stopping on a particularly creaky board to playfully lean his weight on.

"Unlikely." She says quickly, moving behind the counter now, pushing past the wood flap and standing behind the register. "Too overdressed." Predictably there where shelves on her side, which were stuffed with jars and a single rifle. She spotted something white stuffed under a change jar,

"Rose, I _have_ money." John says, before she even gets the chance to bend down and look at everything below. "We don't need to rob this place."

"John, if I was going to, I would do it with the Cashier." She boasts. "I'm no coward."

John laughs, and she picks up the jar, realizing it was a piece of folded paper. She unfolds it, and John tries to lean over the counter to read it.

'Watch the store.' it read in scribbled writing. 'If I find out you've skipped again I'm making you sleep out on the boat tonight.'

"That's a tall threat." He comments. He stands up straight, pointing to the gray door behind her. "Think he's in there?"

She opens it, leading to a single storage cluttered storage room with shelves pushed against the walls. There was another door on the other side of the room, half open and with a light breeze whistling through the crack. Wordlessly, Rose walks over and opens it, realizing it leads out to the back alleys of the pleasure pier. They both looked out, and could hear voices in the distance. They looked at each other, and both of knew they _had_ to investigate.

Rose lead the way like before, guiding John through the dirty alleyways. Trash and thick clumps of dirt were stuffed into the corners and cracks of the pier and creases of the buildings. Old, rotting boxes and barrels were scattered around, apparently with no actual purpose. As they drew nearer to the voices, it seemed to become somewhat clearer. Rose trudges forward, turning and exiting out the alley and into main street. The buildings were gray and the colors muted, and everything was silent again. Rose looks around, trying to listen for the voices again, but there aren't any.

She stood in the middle of the empty pier, focusing on the wind whistling through the buildings. There was something… off about this town, and she felt it the moment they drove in. She wondered what the voices were, the men in suits… were they connected? Were they hiding something? Was this town profiting off of some type criminal organization?

John calls for her, and she turns to see him peeking out from the alleyway. He waves her over, taking his hat off.

"I think they left." He says. "Listen, let's just go back into town. I think we'll have more luck there than here."

"But there were people here." Rose insists. "Isn't that worth looking into? I think this place is hiding something."

"And I don't doubt you. I mean, on the people being here thing. But I think we might get arrested for trespassing. That might have been a security guard for all we know."

Rose frowns, unable to accept that John was right. But she knows she has to, and she sighs.

"Fine, let's find our way out and–"

"Hey there… Sheba."

A smooth, flirtatious voice interrupts her, surprising both of them.. Rose turns around, seeing a single person leaning against the wall.

He looked… actually, he looked like an older teenager, or just in his early twenties. His hair was slicked back in an attempt to look like some kind of handsome ruffian. He had some muscle for his age, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He only wore a tattered, white shirt with faded stains from dirt or dust. Some kind of white stick hung out of his mouth, and upon closer inspection she realized it was an unlit cigarette. There was an air of… sleaziness about him, and from the way he addressed her and presented himself, he clearly perceived himself as a Casanova. She frowns, giving him a scowl in response. He just whistles.

Rose sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. Of all the things she needed, some cocky young adult making passes at her was not one of them. John, taking the initiative, comes forward.

"Uh, hello." He says. "Do um… you live here?"

"John…" Rose murmurs, wanting to comment on it being the wrong question for their situation, but the boy speaks up again.

"Yeah, everyone does. I can tell you guys aren't from here." He grins, taking special notice of Rose. "Especially you."

She gives him a scowl. "I'm not interested."

He throws up his hands in mock defeat, turning around to walk away "Alright, alright, guess I'll just leave then!"

"Hey, wait!" John says, stopping him. "We actually need someone to help us. We're investigating a missing person's case."

The boy stops dead in his tracks. "A missing person, huh?"

"Right." Rose answers. "A girl. About twenty, long black hair."

"I know a lot of girls who look like that." He says, turning around. "That's why I'm interested in you."

She sighs, pinching her nose and sighing in disgust, "What is your name, please? This is serious."

"I'm Cronus." He boasts, "I'm the guy they go to for everything."

"No you aren't." Surprisingly, coming from John. "Sir, we are serious about this. So, as would appreciate it if you treated this seriously as well."

Cronus leans up against the wall, taking the unlit cigarette out of his mouth, looking it over. Clearly, the irony of playing with an unlit cigarette was lost on him. He was all bark and no bite, it was plain as day.

"Well, I don't know what anyone would want to do here. There's never anythin going on." He says. "Everyone here looks alike too, ya know. Dark hair and all. I think you guys would notice that."

"Well, if it'll help jog your memory, this is what she looks like." John takes out a photo, presenting it to Cronus while he puts the unlit cigarette back into his mouth. His cocky grin disappears once he sees the photo, and he seems genuinely surprised. Not scared, just surprised. She takes some pleasure in seeing him squirm. However, her thoughts from before come back, and she wonders if her crime theory is correct. If it was, then she would need to get him to tell her everything.

"So, you've seen her then?" She crosses her arms. Cronus shakes his head, backing away.

"No! I've never seen her, I just thought she looked like someone I knew!" he says. Rose steps forward, and his earlier facade crumbles, now genuinely imitated by her.

"Then why don't you tell us who?" she says, taking hold of his shirt collar. He doesn't even fight her, but John tries to hold her back, which doesn't phase her. "Or maybe, you can help us by telling us where you recognize her from?"

"Don't say anything else, Cronus."

Rose looks up, loosing her grip on Cronus' collar. John looks up as well, and they both see a girl at the end of the alleyway, where Cronus was before. She's about the same age as Cronus, lanky and tall, but twice as threatening. Her eyes and hair are dark, tied back in two long braids. She held an old baseball bat, worn and clearly used. Bizarrely, she was smiling at them. Not a grin like Cronus, but an all tooth smile. Cronus looks halfway relieved, but the fear from before doesn't completely leave him.

John pulls Rose back, and she lets go of Cronus, regaining her composure. She dusts off her jacket, watching as Cronus gets away from her and goes to the girl. Not too close, though.

"Sorry about my partner." John says, "She's had some high tensions since we came in. We're investigating a missing person's case."

"Didn't think hounding chumps was investigatin." She says. Rose flinches, running her hand through her bangs.

"It isn't." Rose forces out. "I apologize for harassing him. But, this case is serious, if what I believe is true."

"Oh?" The girl crosses her arms. "What's that?"

"That your town is hiding something." she accuses. "I don't think you earn a reputation Newport's without a reason."

She laughs. "Whatever you think lady."

"But you do know who we're looking for, right?" John says. "You looked like you listening in on us."

"Yeah. I was." she says. "Lotta girls here have black hair. It's not anythin special."

"But this girl was dropped off here. The bus driver told us he did. He said she looked scared, like someone was after her." John explains. She could tell he wasn't trying to make it personal, but it was a struggle for him. "We've even talked to the hotel owner, but he said she didn't check in. We think she might live her."

"Then she isn't missing." the girl says. "She just came back home."

"Well, if that's the case, does the name Feferi sound familar?" John asks.

"No." she says. "Is there anything else?"

"No, thank you." John says. He turns away, and Rose can tell that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, or was expecting. She follows him, and there was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that their suspicions were right.

* * *

I dont use as much slang because it felt weird in vague 1920s vill.  
i promise the next chapter wont take as long. I feel like I've gotten over a slump.


End file.
